Emma Dodd

Like all elements of life that this time last year we were taking for granted, the events of 2020 have impacted on swimming. But despite the challenges, many of us have managed to get wet in a range of extraordinary ways – from tethered swims in backyard paddling pools to pre-booked swims at recently reopened lidos – and those swims have been made all the more delicious by the restrictions we’ve had to endure. Jo swims across the Bristol Channel from Penarth to Clevedon Pending ratification, I think I’ve become the first woman to swim this route, and the person with the fastest time ever! Some swims are memory makers and our swim of the year is most definitely our dip at The Keeper’s Pond (also known as Pen-ffordd-goch Pond or the Forge Pond).

Portobello can be described in many ways – from Edinburgh’s seaside to the sea swimming capital of Scotland – and on any given day you’ll see little heads bobbing around in the water. Most visitors to Scotland’s capital overlook the coastal areas of Edinburgh, instead gravitating towards neighbourhoods like Leith and Stockbridge. It was Portobello too where I swam through winter in preparation for my February ice swim at Finland’s stunningly beautiful Lake Kuusijärvi. This past New Year’s Day I joined around 2,000 people as they ran into the sea and ran back out again just as quickly, casting off their hangovers with the annual cold-water plunge.

The lovely Vivienne Rickman, who I enjoyed a mountain swim weekend with in Snowdonia last year, also runs wild swim water confidence sessions and I know they’ll Whilst in London in winter, you can also check out Brockwell Lido, Parliament Hill Lido or Charlton Lido for a swim. If you want to take your lido experience to the next level, then there’s always Lido Bristol and Thames Lido, which offer luxury swim sessions that can be combined with spa treatments or decadent meals. n’t swim in the likes of Lagoa Verde, but it’s always important to think about water quality, routes in and out, and other things that could be lurking underneath the water.

Finally, we parked up near what is known as The Snook and set off to walk around the coastline, starting and finishing on Goswick Sands. The idea was to end the walk with a sea swim on this vast beach, but after ten weeks out of the waves it was just too much to bear. The wind had crept up and was whipping sand along the vast beach and had the same effect on the sea when I got in. I stayed near the shore due to the ferocity of the wind, only getting just deep enough to lift my legs off the sand and swim.